Pregame Guide and Prediction: Illinois vs Southern Illinois

The Fighting Illini are back and looking to bounce back against in-state FCS opponent Southern Illinois.

It was a rough one the last time Illinois took the field. Self-inflicted errors and sloppy play allowed a potential swing game to slip away in the fourth quarter.

Illinois has been exceptional in one-score games over the past two seasons, and seeing the Illini on the wrong side of one has not been customary. Bret Bielema said he does not want that to become the norm for this rendition of Illinois football.

He also said:

“A loss usually gives an opportunity for the weak to become stronger. People always have opinions on things that kind of come to light after a little bit of adversity, but I really do believe you build yourself on moments of adversity more than success. So I think it’s really important for our guys to feel that.”

This Saturday, we’ll see how Illinois begins to respond.

PREVIEW:

Southern Illinois is led by former Saluki great Nick Hill. Hill is in his 11th season at the helm and has helped build SIU into a respectable FCS program.

The Salukis have also proven they are more than capable of taking down FBS opponents. Over the last five seasons, Southern Illinois has knocked off both Northwestern and Northern Illinois.

On Saturday, they’ll have their sights set on the third Illinois school.

Southern Illinois dropped their opening game in surprising fashion against newly D-1 West Florida but have responded nicely in wins against Samford and rival SEMO.

SIU has one of the most electric quarterbacks in the FCS. DJ Williams finished 8th in the Walter Payton Award race, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman. It was a bit of a surprise that he did not make the leap up the FBS for his senior season. The 6'3 senior is from Harvey, IL and transferred from Murray State originally. Williams got injured in their loss against West Florida and missed their game against Samford. He was back in action against SEMO, and he totaled 5 touchdowns in their win. Williams is a dynamic playmaker that can use his legs to make plays. Illinois will have to keep him honest.

The backfield is led by Chandler Chapman. The senior has already tallied 5 touchdowns this season. He has waited his turn to become this team's number 1 back, and he is already proving that wait to be worth it.

Kyle Thomas is a name to watch out for in their receiving room. He is currently leading the team in receptions and yards. Thomas has FBS experience at NIU before transferring to SIU.

SIU has a pretty explosive FBS offense, so the Illini can't be caught seeping. I don't expect them to take this lightly considering how the first two weeks have gone, but it should still be noted.

On defense, SIU has struggled these last couple of years. It has held them back from being in the FCS playoffs the last couple of years/ The front 7 is supposed to be the strength of that unit, so it will be interesting to see how Illinois' depth on the offensive line can hold against the Salukis. Ibrahim Sanogo and Amir Dwight are names to monitor on Saturday, as they can potentially disrupt Illinois' run game and get to Houser.

WANT TO SEE:

SIU has not given in to FBS opponents, but Illinois is favored by nearly 40 points. This should be a stress-free win where Illinois can really work on what need.

Illinois needs to impose themselves in the run game. I know Illinois is banged up, but the run blocking has been subpar thus far. Outside of Ca'Lil Valentine's 51-yard touchdown run against UAB, there have not been enough explosive run plays. Illinois has needed to throw the ball to set up the run, and I would like to see that reversed on Saturday.

Make the damn tackle. Bobby Hauck's comments about the tackling being "darn good for most of the game" did not sit well with Illinois fans, as it shouldn't. The tackling has been some of the worst we have ever seen two games in and comments like that don't really instill confidence in Illini fans that more improvements are coming. I understand that no team ever goes a game without missing a few tackles, but when we comfortably see it rise into the teens and twenty's, issues arise. This defense needs to prove it can make tackles against anyone at this point, even an FCS opponent.

Play clean football. Illinois only had one turnover, but it felt like they had multiple with the number of penalties they had against Duke. There better not be any communication errors from the sideline to the field that extends a drive for SIU. Penalties were not an issue against UAB, and Bielema teams are typically sound in their process, so I am not too concerned about this overall.

PREDICTION:

There is not much we should learn from the scoreboard on Saturday. As long as the Illini avoid a total collapse, they should win comfortably by multiple scores.

I think the Illinois offense will revert back to what we saw through the first game and a half, but my concerns about the defense have only grown. I expect SIU to have some success moving the ball and potentially put up some points.

Still, Illinois should have too much talent on both sides of the ball to let this one get interesting.

I’ll take Illinois to win 42-14.